This is the 16th offering in Scarecrow’s 'Historical Dictionaries of Sports' series. Historian Grasso has written five earlier works in the series, covering basketball, boxing, football, tennis, and wrestling. For his sixth contribution, on bowling, he is joined by 'bowling connoisseur' Hartman. In keeping with the series format, the dictionary has a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology (1819 to 2013), a brief history of bowling, and a bibliography. The main dictionary portion contains more than 400 entries. Biographical entries on notable bowlers represent the bulk of the content. Although most entries are no more than one page long, they are . . . detailed and informative. Other subjects covered include important bowling tournaments, organizations, concepts, and terminology (e.g., Scorpion Oil Pattern, Greek Church, and Dinner Bucket), along with numerous game variations, such as Scotch Doubles and Rubberband Duckpin Bowling. Of the 22 appendixes, most list various award and tournament winners. Given the general lack of information resources on bowling (other than instructional books), this dictionary will benefit sports-related collections. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers.

Choice Reviews

This reference book by Grasso and Hartman provides an in-depth look into not only the history of the game but those who have made the game come alive as well. Beginning with a chronology of bowling covering the years 1819–2013 and ending with a fine bibliography providing the serious researcher with an abundance of further resources, this volume truly is a wonderful starting point for anyone researching the sport. . . .For those interested in bowling, this dictionary serves as a worthwhile reference. The introductory essay is, by itself, of value. The entries that make up most of the dictionary are concise and informative. Perhaps of most interest to the casual bowling fan will be the many appendices covering everything from the rules of the game to bowling records to the many champions throughout the years. Without doubt, this volume offers a wide variety of information that members of many diverse communities will enjoy and find informative.

Journal of Sport History

The bowling enthusiast will enjoy simply sitting down and thumbing through pages that reflect a love for the sport. The bulk of the dictionary is the hundreds of cross-referenced, A-Z entries on important bowlers, rules, organizations, and technical terminology. John Grasso, a historian of the Olympics and author of the Historical Dictionary of Basketball (see ARBA 2012, entry 798) as well as other titles in this series, and Eric Hartman, a long-time fan of bowling, writes these in an accessible, conversational style. The entries are accompanied by a historical overview of bowling from its origins in Ancient Egypt, a list of acronyms used throughout, a chronology, appendixes (winners/champions of the major events), and a bibliography subdivided by topic. . . . Public librarians and bowling historians will want to add the Historical Dictionary of Bowling to their collections.

American Reference Books Annual

Rowman & Littlefield has brought out their Historical Dictionary of Bowling. Put simply, this is the finest bowling reference book ever published. There’s 506 pages of everything here. After an introductory essay and a year-by-year chronology, the dictionary itself has over 500 cross-referenced entries. More than half of these are detailed biographies of noted bowlers, past and present. But we’re not through yet! The appendices provide the yearly results of leading tournaments, an extensive bibliography, and much more.

Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog